Lotte Leming Rognsas from Norway became a huge fan of Kyiv when she came to Ukraine in 2013 for a year of volunteer work. Now she wants to come back to Ukraine to revisit Lviv and the Carpathian Mountains, and plans to do so this summer despite Russia's war in the eastern Donbas. Rognsas is one of a few foreign tourists who are not scared off by the conflict.
Rognsas, 26, a student of the Norwegian School of Economics,
says all of her Norwegian friends disapprove of her travel plans. She
blames it on the Western people’s lack of knowledge about the country.
“They don’t know how big the country is and don’t quite understand that while there are battles in the east the west is still safe,” she says.
Rognsas says she doesn’t know a single person who thinks about visiting Ukraine any time soon.
Despite the fact that the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine took over only 7 percent of the country’s territory, many tourists prefer to stay away from Ukraine. Only 147,000 foreign tourists came to Ukraine in 2014, comparing to 232,000 in 2013, according to the State Statistic Service.
Aimee Latimer from the U.K. is among those who dared to come to war-torn Ukraine, and didn’t find it scary. She visited Ukraine in April.
“I certainly felt very safe, even at night,” she says. “I’ve been to other countries recently, such as Spain and (countries) in South America, where muggings and street crime are quite common – and I felt much more unsafe in those places than in Ukraine,” she says.
Latimer was impressed with the friendly people and a mix of modern restaurants, old taverns and street markets. But the low prices were the best.
Hryvnia devaluation has made staying in Ukraine cheaper than in many Asian countries. A tourist can live on just $35.16 a day, according to Numbeo, a cost-of-living statistics website.
Even some of the luxurious hotels of Kyiv offer discounts due to the crisis. While the website of the five-star Premier Palace Hotel advertises the Classic Double room at $400, a booking manager offered a $340 price in a phone conversation. And the four-star Kosatskiy hotel at Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square offers 15 percent discount for double comfort room, or only $43 per night.
Rented apartments also become cheaper thanks to the hryvnia’s devaluation. Andriy Zhuk, owner of Jam Rent agency, says the prices have dropped.
“Before, we would charge $70 or $80 for an apartment, but now that equals Hr 1,600,” Zhuk says. “Ukrainians can’t pay that, and foreign people will check exchange rates and prices online before they come, so we charge Hr 750 ($36) instead.”
Advisor on Tourism Minister of Economic Development and Trade Oleksii Ievchenko says Ukraine needs to inform the world that most of the country is still safe.
“We’re organizing discussions with ambassadors and press tours for foreign journalists to inform people in other countries that it is calm and safe in the rest of Ukraine,” he says, adding that Iran managed to stay a popular tourist destination despite war.
He names Kyiv, Lviv and Truskavets as examples of safe destinations.
But not everyone shares Ievchenko’s optimism. Arkadiy Maslov, commercial director of Tez Tour Ukraine, says that to increase the tourist flow, Ukraine needs three vital elements that it doesn’t have: infrastructure, an attractive business climate and trust in the government.
“How to attract foreigners to Ukraine?” Maslov asks, and gives an answer at once: “There is no way. For now. It will take 10-15 years for the country to create a positive environment for investors to invest in tourism.”
Ukraine, he believes, is just at the beginning of that path. He says that Ukraine can follow the example of Turkey, which developed tourism thanks to its natural resources and exit to the sea.
Foreigners who visited Ukraine also believe it is possible for the country to become a popular destination.
“Ukraine would be ideal for weekend breaks abroad as the flight is short and relatively cheap, and the spending costs inside the country are low,” says Latimer.
